Document Type
Report
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
1996
Abstract
This report covers the second year (Phase II) of a two-year study. An earlier contract report (Boon,1996) was submitted in January, 1996, to the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program covering the first year (Phase I) results of a wave , current and suspended sediment monitoring study conducted at the mouth of the York River (Figure 1).
The purpose of the monitoring study , as originally planned , was to investigate processes governing sediment suspension within the shallow waters of the littoral zone (depths< 2m) in coastal estuaries. These are regions in which bottom sediment, in the absence of vegetative cover and depending on sediment grain sizes present, has the potential to be actively eroded and entrained in the water column by wind waves and/or currents. Suspended sediment has the further potential to impact water quality and promote eutrophication through nutrient enrichment processes (Kemp et al., 1983; Orth and Moore, 1983). High sediment loadings also lead to light reduction in the photic zone which can impact the growth or survival of submerged aquatic vegetation (De Groot and de Jonge, 1990) .
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25773/tbtr-zs50
Keywords
Suspended sediments -- Virginia -- York River, Estuarine sediments -- Virginia -- York River
Recommended Citation
Boon, J. D. (1996) Hydrodynamics of sediment suspensions in the littoral zone of the lower York River - Phase II. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.25773/tbtr-zs50
